Sometime in 2021, I had the rare opportunity of visiting the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN)
Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) was established in 2004 as an affiliate of the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine. It was incorporated in March 2004 as a local non-governmental organization with a Board of Directors. Pictures
However, the inception of IHVN started with Dr. William Blattner and Dr. Alash’le Abimiku, both working at the National Institute’s of Health and conducting early studies to track the emerging HIV epidemic in Nigeria. In 1995, Dr. Blattner in partnership with Dr. Robert C. Gallo and Dr. Robert Redfield co-founded Institute of Human Virology (IHV), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Drs. Blattner and Abimiku successfully competed for international funding from the US Military, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) AIDS Program for a University Technical Assistance Program (UTAP) award to support the establishment and growth of IHVN. Since 2004, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has supported the AIDS Care and Treatment in Nigeria (ACTION) project and follow-on grants, ACTION Plus, ACTION PlusUp and Action to Control HIV Epidemic through Evidence (ACHIEVE) projects. http://ihvnigeria.org/about-us/our-history/
I had an amazing time with the Chief Executive Office, Dr. Patrick Dakum who gave me a detailed mind tour of the organization on what they do and their economic importance.
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